The Canadian Government has funded Mission Canada to support democracy in Ukraine. Mission Canada has already dispatched more than 60 trained long-term observers throughout Ukraine ahead of the Parliamentary elections in October. This group will be followed by 365 short-term observers in October. In addition, Canada is sending 10 long-term and 60 short-term observers attached to the multilateral mission organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe.

In the Mission's first report, they have noted that preparations for the elections are taking place in an environment of widespread vote-buying, pressure on candidates and campaign staff, procedural irregularities and restrictions on media freedom.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Minister of International Cooperation Julian Fantino have stated that they are concerned about the irregularities in the electoral campaign in Ukraine noted by the Canadian observation mission, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

"The Canadian election observation mission's initial findings regarding the parliamentary election campaign under way in Ukraine are troubling," reads the statement of the ministers distributed by the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine on Wednesday.

The document reads that "free and fair elections that represent the will of the Ukrainian people are still possible. It is not too late."

The ministers called on the Ukrainian authorities to address all irregularities in the electoral process thoroughly and as a matter of immediate priority.

To read the full report in English, click here and in Ukrainian, here.